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Stamps Take Flight

Materials from the Postmaster General's Collection

Engravers Tools

Classic Engraving

refer to caption — Master engraver Elie Timothee Loizeaux

Unlike later printing methods, line-engraved intaglio requires a specialized craftsman—an engraver—to transform finished artwork into what will become a printed stamp. Engravers follow a stamp design very closely, but do not simply copy it, often making small adjustments to lines and curves.

refer to caption — Engraved die, 1851 stamp essay

refer to caption — Die proof, 1851 stamp essay

The tools shown here, once used by master engraver Elie Timothee Loizeaux, suggest the complexity of the task. The above metal die and its printed image show the desired result.

refer to caption — Short-focus magnifying lens

refer to caption — Wide-angle lens

refer to caption — Engraver’s loupe

refer to caption — Leather strip

refer to caption — Graver

refer to caption — Hand-made scraper

refer to caption — Etching point and cork

refer to caption — Muller

refer to caption — Burnisher

refer to caption — Chinese brush for acid

refer to caption — Vignette stones

refer to caption — Tintype point

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